A second season: part 8
by splash
Summary: Peter and Sophie start their long talk, Daniel goes off the deep end, someone ends up in the hospital, Grace is still feeling sick, and there's a stranger lurking around the school...


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A second season: Part 8: Still Searching

by Splash 

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So the saga continues… I wrote most of this story a while ago – Its just taking longer than expected to turn the script forms into prose and work is crazy… I've also decided to take some of the characters in different directions than I had intended – the changes should be for the better, but there will be more time between postings. So… bear with me… 

On another note, I read MeganR's Peter and Sophie FanFiction after I wrote this. There are some similarities in the Peter/Sophie "talk", but she definitely has a better command over their passions… 

*grin* 

I also like how she started digging into Soph's history with her mom. I've been wondering what kind of a role Soph's father might have played in her life… So I appologize for not getting to the long talk I hinted at before… That will all come in the next post which is rather long, so it's taking me a lot of time to finish. 

Meanwhile there's a lot going on in this episode… Some hints at what is to come later. Any suggestions and comments are gladly welcomed… I know that since this isn't a Scott and Shelby FF (at least not yet…), it won't get as many readers/reviewers, but I'd really like to hear your thoughts anyway! 

Many Thanks!  
  


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The Rangers are unpacking from their quest. Graham and Sarah are in the yard heading to the lodge when they bump into Peter who has been pacing, anxiously awaiting their return.

"Hey Sarah, Graham. How'd it go?" Peter asked, curious about what happened over the weekend. 

"Great… Cured the world's problems in one weekend!" Graham joked. "OK seriously, things went pretty well given the circumstances"

"So you told the kids?" Peter questioned. 

"Didn't have much choice after a while," Graham started as if he was a bit annoyed. "Alexis was so fixated on my love life she wouldn't drop it." His voice trailed off, pausing for a moment. 

"Actually it was Patrick who suggested to her that I might be gay. I was surprised, but he was pretty cool about the whole thing, as was Alexis." Peter smiled at this – at least some of the kids were learning to accept other's differences.

"Even Daniel's reaction was pretty benign," Sarah added quietly, not wanting to step on Graham's story.

"Has he shown any sign of aggression since you told them?" Peter was concerned about this. If Daniel was holding back his anger, letting it build, he might explode given half a chance. With that thought, Sophie walked out of the lodge and joined the adults without interrupting the conversation.

"Well, he wouldn't talk to me after he found out. He swore he wasn't gay and that if he ever needed someone to talk to it wouldn't be me," Graham sighed. He was disappointed that he couldn't get through to the boy, but he realized how difficult it can be to admit something like being gay, even to your self.

"Give it time Graham," Peter cautioned, "I look forward to hearing about the rest of the weekend, _but_ unless there are any pressing issues, we (looking at Sophie with suggestive eyes) have a date…"

"Nothing else, really. We can fill you in tomorrow," Sarah said glad not to have to go through the whole weekend now. Then she remembered Grace's episode, "Oh, one thing – Grace got sick. She felt faint and nauseous yesterday morning. She said it was because she didn't eat enough for breakfast, but I'm not so sure. Could be something more to it."

"Well keep me posted. We can have the doctor look at her if it continues," Peter looked at the two counselors to see if there was anything else that couldn't wait. Nothing…

"OK. Sounds like you two have it all under control. Roger is on tonight, too." Peter was rushing now.

"We'll be fine. You two go enjoy your evening off," Graham assured them. Peter was in a hurry to get away tonight – must have been something pretty big, Graham thought. 

"We will" Sophie said slyly. She didn't know what Peter had planned but she was looking forward to the evening all the same. She took Peter's arm to calm him and gently pulled him away from Sarah and Graham. Sarah smiled at Sophie, realizing what she was trying to do.

"Yes, you two go. We'll talk in the morning." Sarah shooed them down the path.

Peter smiled at her and then turned to go, giving Sophie a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed her. She smiled over her shoulder at Sarah as Peter dragged her away. 

In the computer room Patrick was working the keyboard. He had hit a few walls, but nothing his expert security cracking skills could not handle. He was searching the Internet for birth parents who might be looking for a daughter born on the same day as Alexis, nothing. So he decided he should change tactics, and turned to the hospital where she was born. He started a program to break the password code for their patient files hoping that the hospital had been smart enough to put their old patient files on line, even though they might not have had computer filing back then.

The air outside had a sharp edge. The woods, though dark as a moonless midnight, were not quiet. The owls were calling and crickets and frogs playing in the puddles left by the evening showers. 

There was a sudden, loud noise by the woodpile. Sarah jumped. She had just finished making rounds. All the students were safe in their dorms at least feigning sleep – so it wasn't one of them. It must have been a small animal rummaging for food that overturned the wobbly stack of wood. Sarah shined her flashlight in the direction of the noise hoping to see the animal that caused the ruckus. There was nothing but the wood scattered on the ground. She figured someone would re-stack it in the morning and headed to the lodge to write her report for Peter on the weekend quest.

The girl quickly darted behind the woodshed when she saw the woman coming across the lawn. In her haste she knocked over the stack of wood and it made a huge noise that seemed even louder in the still night, despite the noises coming from the woods. It had been foolish to come out so early, but she was hungry and didn't think she could wait much longer so she had risked it. She would have made it too if it hadn't been for the counselor. She had never seen this counselor before, at least not within the last few nights. She would have to be more careful now.

Peter opened the door for Sophie and followed her into his house. They were both excited at the thought of the evening to come. Peter had ordered Chinese – the only take-out worth bothering with in Agnes. He figured (and hoped) no one would be too worried about eating tonight – not if he had his way, and he smiled a devilish grin.

"What?" Sophie asked curious about that smile on Peter's face.

"You'll see… Hungry?" 

"Maybe, but I'm more interested in what you are thinking right now…" Sophie countered, searching his face for a clue to what he was thinking—a sign, anything.

"I'm thinking about the future. _Our_ future," Peter said softly taking Sophie into his arms and holding her close to his body. He loved feeling her so… So warm, so alive. 

She smiled at Peter and buried her head on his shoulder smelling him. He always smelled so good – a mix of fresh laundry and the outdoors. She found it irresistible and never wanted to pull away. She didn't have to. This time Peter pulled away, gently, and led her to the couch. She sat down anticipating a repeat of last time, but Peter didn't follow. She looked up at him puzzled, and a bit hurt.

"All in good time Soph… first there's something I want to give you," Peter smiled teasingly. He pulled a small box out of his pocket. It was blue, dark blue, with a small gold band about the middle. Sophie couldn't wait – she knew what it was – her face lit up and all worries disappeared.

"Sophie, you know I love you… You and I make a great team – at work and at play. I can't imagine my life without you," he paused smiling warmly at her. Then continued, "I made the mistake once, not asking you to marry me properly and I don't want to do it again. So…" Peter approached Sophie getting down on one knee, gingerly though so as not to hurt any more that it had to. Sophie reached out to steady Peter as he kneeled in front of her. The tears were hard to stop from welling up in her eyes.

Peter opened the blue box and extended it in front of him. "Sophie Becker, will you do me the honor of being my wife?" A simple, but beautiful, diamond rested delicately a top a thin elegant band.

"Oh! Peter…" Sophie was crying now. Tears of joy mixed with a sadness she couldn't shake. 

Peter got up off of his knee and sat beside her on the couch, cradling her shoulders in his arms, stroking her blonde hair. "Soph, I didn't want…"

"No Peter – It was beautiful. You are perfect. It's just…" Sophie couldn't continue. It was still so hard to talk about even with Peter. She knew how much he wanted kids, even though he said it was ok that she couldn't have them.

"Sophie, I know, I said it was ok. If having you means no kids, and not accepting the fact you can't have kids mean no you, then there's only one choice I can make." Peter was beginning to choke on his words. He took a deep breath. Not being able to have kids – it had taken him a while to accept this. He couldn't let her know how disappointed he was – not in her, he knew it wasn't her fault. It was just that he had imagined his whole like complete with his own kids who he could nurture and love – kids who would never have to face most of the things that the kids at horizon had. 

"… And I choose _you_." Peter smiled at her and a tear rolled down his cheek. He couldn't imagine his life without her. That was even more incomprehensible that a life without kids.

"One thing I have learned since I've been at Horizon is that there are kids out there who need good parents. Kids who have been abandoned, orphaned…"

"It's not fair Peter. You deserve your own kids. As many as you want. Little Peters… It's not fair!" Sophie got up abruptly from the couch and stormed out of the room.

"Sophie… Please come back… Talk to me…" Peter was standing out side of the door to the bathroom where Sophie had taken refuge. He could hear her crying inside and realized that it wasn't about him anymore. She was hurting. She hadn't come to terms with her condition. She needed him to be strong – not to push.

"Soph… It's not your fault – any of this. Your not being able to have kids – It's a bad break, but it's not your fault." He couldn't believe how he could be so good with the kids problems, but so clumsy around Sophie. Her reaction to his attempts to comfort her in the past had been rough – he wasn't sure what would happen tonight. 

The crying behind the door had stopped. He could the water running. He tried again.

"Look I'm here to talk, to listen, or just to hold you. Sophie I won't push, but I wish you could talk to me," Peter pleaded. He turned and walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. His heart ached for her, but he knew he couldn't do anything to help until she wanted him to. She had been there for him when he was lost, now he would make it a point to be there for her. The phone rang. 

Sophie emerged from the bathroom. She had washed her face and finally managed to stop crying. 

"Was it the school?" She asked.

"No wrong number."

"Oh." She wasn't ready to talk to him, but she knew that eventually she wouldn't be able to hold back. She loved him so much – she couldn't lose him. Peter was looking at her. He had stopped pushing for the moment, but she knew he would only be so patient before he got frustrated with her. 

"Peter, hold me," she pleaded. "I need you. You… You are my rock – so strong. I just don't want you to get hurt – to miss out."

"I can take care of myself… So long as you're honest with me – we'll be ok," Peter was taking a different tactic trying to get her to open up.

"I'm sorry, It's not that I'm trying to hide anything from you. Just that…" Sophie choked on her word. "Just that it's not fair to you."

"Life's not always fair, Soph. It'll be ok. I'll be ok." Peter held her gently, rubbing her back in slow circles. "I want you to be ok too. I want to know what's bothering you – _really_ bothering you. It's not just me your worried about. Please, Soph. Talk to me." 

It was all she could do to not cry again. She didn't know what it was that was upsetting her so. She had come to terms with not being able to have kids, so she thought. Now she wasn't so sure. The only thing she knew was that she wasn't ready to talk to Peter until she figured it out for herself. He had enough experience to realize this too.

"Look I'm fine," she said unconvincingly. "I'm hungry – and the food smells good – we should eat." 

Peter knew they wouldn't talk anymore tonight. He had learned a lot despite her efforts to conceal her pain. He had finally realized it was not about him – or her concern that he would be so upset not being able to have his own children – it was something else, maybe from her past. There was so much about her childhood he didn't know, beyond the fact that she and her mother had a rough relationship that had prompted her to leave home and travel, pushing her to the edge of recklessness at times. He would have to wait to find out the details—he would have to be patient. They began to eat in silence.

Early the next morning as dawn was beginning to stir, most of the students at Horizon were sleeping deeply, except for Grace and Lindsay. Grace had been tossing fitfully when she woke up in a panic. Lindsay had woken up earlier and hadn't fallen back asleep. She was watching Grace toss and turn, wondering what she was dreaming of. There was a struggle at the end of Grace's dream—she must have been scared. This is why she woke so suddenly. Lindsay knew all too well—her own past haunted her the same way.

"Grace, you ok? You were having a bad dream."

"Oh, sorry to wake you."

"No I wasn't sleeping anyway. You want to talk about it?" Lindsay asked, "Your dream?"

"I don't remember it."

"Oh," Lindsay didn't believe her. "I have bad dreams a lot too. That's why I can't sleep tonight – I don't want to dream.

"Yeah. I know what that's like." Grace's voice trailed off. She was not going to talk anymore – for fear she'd spill everything to Lindsay. Lindsay didn't push any further, but decided to take a walk. She got up and went outside. It was dark except a small sliver of the moon setting into the morning and the plethora of stars that carpeted the sky. She walked down the cabin stairs and nearly tripped over Daniel who apparently couldn't sleep either.

"Hey… Good thing you weren't a bear or something—I didn't see you sitting here," Lindsay joked quietly so as not to wake anyone. Daniel looked up at her, wishing for once she'd just go away.

"What are you doing up," he asked.

"Uh, couldn't sleep?" Lindsay said teasing. She wasn't in the mood to have a deep conversation either. She just really wanted to be alone for a bit, in peace, but she chose to sit anyway. After all she still thought he liked her and this was a perfect opportunity for them to be alone together.

"So you decided to bug me instead?" Daniel hissed, sounding meaner than he had intended.

Lindsay lets this roll off her and just smiles at him and shrugs. He can barely make out her face in the dim moonlight. She seems so peaceful. He didn't get it—he was so… so angry inside—he couldn't control it anymore. He was afraid he might explode if he didn't do something soon. To keep from saying anything harsh, he chose to say nothing at all. He was so frustrated he almost began to cry. This impulse made him even angrier. "Real men don't cry like babies," his brothers used to tease him. He couldn't cry now.

"So, do you come here often?" Lindsay tried joking again. She was really too tired to think of anything less cheesy to say. And with that Daniel started crying. She couldn't imagine that what she had said would upset him, but she decided that any more joking was out of the question.

"Hey I'm sorry if I said something wrong," Lindsay whispered softly placing a hand on his wet cheek. "If you want to talk, I'll just listen—no joking." 

Daniel tried to hang his head but Lindsay's hand gently prevented it from falling. She softly turned his face to meet hers and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. She was trembling. This was the first time she had kissed a boy first. His lips were salty and soft, but lifeless in a way. He didn't respond at first and she let her lips linger for a moment longer still touching his.

Suddenly and violently, he shoved her away almost tripping down the last few steps as he began to sprint across the campus. He couldn't think. He just knew he had to get away. So he ran as hard and as fast as he could through the woods.

Before she realized it, Lindsay had broken through the rail and tumbled to the ground. She wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but she knew it hurt. Her head was throbbing, she couldn't tell whether she was facing the ground or the sky. Everything was spinning. Then everything went black.

Graham had woken early, before sunrise as usual, for his morning run. He had a change of clothes in his backpack so that he didn't have to go home after his run, which now consisted of the rambling ten-mile trail up to the school from his aunt's house. Sunrise was getting later, but he was still getting up just as early, and a good portion of the run was in the dark, so he had invested in a head lamp. While he would admit that it looked pretty silly, it saved him from twisting an ankle, or even worse, before the sun came up.

Today the trail had been pretty wet, and thus muddy, from the morning dew and he was in need of a shower, clothes and all. As he came up to the main building at the school the sun was barely noticeable through the mist. For some reason the front door of the lodge was locked, or stuck, so he headed around to enter through the door from the yard. The sun was rising quickly and now had cast a pink haze over the school. As he turned to enter the lodge a dark shape caught his eye over by the Ranger dorm. Something had broken the railing during the night. He decided the shower could wait and went over to check it out.

It was strange. There was no sign of an animal. No animal tracks, unless they had started wearing sneakers and hiking boots. He looked over the edge and noticed the top of the bush was broken off. He turned his light on to get a closer look. That's when he saw the feet twisted in the air. For a moment he was puzzled with how this could have happened until he pushed that thought away to focus on the injured girl.

It was Lindsay. Her head had been bleeding pretty badly. From the look of the dark and dried blood around the edges of the wound, she had fallen a while earlier. She was still breathing and her pulse was steady. Careful not to move her too much, in case of any spinal injuries, he repositioned her legs and checked for other injuries. Her pajama pants were torn where they had caught on the rail and underneath there was a long scrape on her leg, but no other apparent injuries. 

He raced into the lodge and calls the ambulance. The dispatcher told him it was ten minutes out. Graham was about to dial Peter when Sarah came in. 

"Morning Graham."

"Sarah, There's been an accident—It's Lindsay. She fell sometime this morning. I found her after my run. She's over by the Ranger's dorm. I've called the ambulance and I'm about to call Peter to have him meet us at the hospital. Can you go sit with her incase she wakes up."

"Oh… Is she…" Sarah is too panicked to form a coherent sentence. She just drops her bag in the middle of the floor and runs outside to where Lindsay is lying on the ground. She too checks Lindsay for injuries and notices her pulse is not strong.   


Inside the Ranger's cabin, Grace woke up to the beeping of a truck backing up in the yard. Curious she got up, to look out the window, only to be greeted with the familiar wave of nausea and dizziness she had been feeling for the last few mornings. She fell back to the bed moaning slightly and looked to see if anyone had noticed. They were all gone already. She wondered what was going on, but gave up quickly, content to be alone. She dozed back to sleep.

Peter was already at the hospital, with Sophie, when the ambulance arrived. He was frantically pacing in the waiting room. Graham hadn't told him much—just that she had apparently fallen and was unconscious. When he first saw her he was shocked at the amount of blood that covered the side of her face. She was wheeled into an examination room and the doors were shut in his face. A few moments later a nurse came out and asked for the girl's parents. 

"Uh, she's in my care. We've called her parents but haven't been able to reach them yet." Peter managed barely to speak. "How is she?"

"The doctor will be out after he's done examining her," the nurse said calmly. "First there are a few forms that need to be filled out. You can wait over there in the lounge. I'll let the doctor know where you are."

Peter nodded. He didn't want to leave the doorway, but he followed Sophie coaxed him over to the row of chairs closest to Lindsay's exam room. She took the forms from him and began filling them out. He couldn't sit and paced back and forth until Graham showed up.

"Any news?"

"Not yet. The doctor is examining her and should be out soon to tell us how she is," Peter recounted. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know I just found her unconscious half under the stairs," Graham started. "I had just gotten back from my run." It was obvious that he hadn't showered yet, but had just thrown a pair of grubby sweats over has jogging clothes and raced over here.

"Anyway I found her and called 911, then you. Sarah showed up shortly thereafter and she stayed at school with the rest of the kids to try to figure out what happened. I took the old truck and got here fast as I could," Graham continued breathlessly. A door squeaked and they all turned to see the doctor emerging from the exam room. 

"She's lucky. The blow to her head wasn't as bad as it looks, only six stitches, and there are no spinal injuries," he said calmly. "We'll know more when she wakes. I'm waiting for the x-ray results to make sure her wrist isn't fractured. Other than that, just a cut on her leg that required a few stitches but it will heal just fine."

Peter and the other two were relieved at the good news. They would just have to wait to find out what happened when she woke up. Peter's phone broke the silence. Across the waiting room was a large sign that said "Please turn off all cellular devices" in four languages, below the large "No Smoking" sign. Peter nodded thank you to the doctor and slipped out the emergency entrance to take the call. It was from the school probably checking on Lindsay.

"Peter?" 

It was Sarah on the other end of the phone.

"Hi Sarah. Lindsay's going to be ok. She's still unconscious but the doctor seems confident she should wake up soon."

"Oh, Good," Sarah sounded distracted. 

"Was there something else?" Peter asked.

"Well, Daniel's missing. Sam said he left the dorm well before sunrise and hasn't returned. In all the confusion I hadn't noticed until now. I have Roger looking already and I've alerted Curtis to be on the look out. He didn't take any of his stuff, but he has on his boots and rain jacket," Sarah explained frantically.

"Calm down. I'll send Sophie and Graham back up to help you organize the search. At most he has only three hours start. Probably hasn't made it to town—not too many cars this time of the morning," Peter couldn't believe anything else could go wrong today.

"OK I'll wait for them to get back. Meanwhile if I hear anything I'll page you at the hospital," Sarah was calmer now that Peter knew what was going on and was calling the shots. 

"Thanks," Peter hangs up the phone and heads back in with the second bad news of the day.

"More bad news guys…"

Sophie and Graham turn to look at Peter. Already he looks tired and the day has barely begun.

"What is it Peter?" Sophie asks tenderly.

"I need you two to go back to the school and organize the kids into search parties. Daniel is missing," Peter says barely believing his own thoughts.

"You don't think Daniel did this to her?" Graham thought out-loud looking back at the room where Lindsay was lying still unconscious.

"Oh god…" Sophie had just realized the same thing the others had. Daniel might have been the one to push Lindsay down the stairs, but why? And why did he leave her there unconscious? She gathered her jacket and squeezed Peter's arm gently as if to say it would be ok. He was dubious but glad that she had tried to comfort him.

"Just let me know as soon as you find him. I'll call his parents from here and let them know he's missing. Let's not go accusing him before we have the facts," Peter cautioned.

Sophie and Graham both nodded in agreement and turned to head to the parking lot. Graham handed her the truck keys as they walked through the emergency bay doors. Peter watched them go, now worried about two students.

Back at school the commotion of Daniel and Lindsay has created a vacuum of attention for the other students and no one notices that Grace hasn't surfaced yet this morning. Grace has been puking in the girls' dorm. This morning is the worst yet. Between dry heaves she attempts to block out the thoughts of her dream from the night before. She can't let anyone know. As soon as she can stand, she showers and brushes her teeth several times to wash the smell of vomit away. She emerges from the cabin around noon. The campus is nearly deserted, and she wonders what is going on. She sees Daisy across the yard and waves. Daisy heads in her direction.

"Where have you been? We're all supposed to be looking for Daniel. Didn't Sarah assign you to a group?"

"Uh, no… I wasn't feeling well. She said I could stay here. Have they found him?" Grace asked trying to get as much information as possible without revealing how totally clueless she was.

"Well, if they'd found him they wouldn't still be looking would they?" Daisy retorted. "Look if you want to help, we need someone to sit by the radio. OK?"

"Sure. It's in the office right?"

"Uh yeah…" Daisy looked at her with annoyance.

"Is Peter there?"

"He's still at the hospital with Lindsay—she hasn't woken up yet," Daisy rolled her eyes with impatience and went back to the lodge to get her pack so she could join the search.

Grace headed into the lodge through the dining hall, grabbing an apple before going to Peter's office. It was weird to be in there with out Peter. So many times she had sat there silently while he talked at her. Afraid to tell anyone what had happened to her. "It would ruin his life," she thought, "I can't tell…" She sighed and closed her eyes to block the tears before they had a chance to form. The radio crackled, startling her.

"Horizon, this is search and rescue. Come in."

Grace was nervous. She had only used the radio once on her dad's boat, before he died…

"Uh… This is horizon. Go ahead search and rescue." She waited for a response.

"We have recent tracks here at the bottom of the ridge. Looks like he didn't head to town, but up the ridge and around the back of campus. Is there anyone still there who can set out towards the top of the ridge. I don't figure he's that far, but he's probably hiding best he can. Over."

"Um, the last party is on its way out. I can catch them I think. Just a sec." Grace dropped the mic and ran out of the office yelling, "Daisy! Wait-up!"

Sam and Daisy were at the edge of the woods heading towards the main road. 

"Hey," Grace panted out of breath. "Search and rescue just radioed. Think he might be up towards the ridge" She was pointing in the opposite direction that the two were heading. "Not far. Want someone to check up there."

"Oh sure… Leave it to us. The rest of our group has already headed down the road," Daisy shook her head.

"We don't need them," Sam said quickly and gently touched Daisy's arm guiding her off towards the ridge. Turning back to Grace. "They say where on the ridge specifically?"

"Just that he's probably not too far from campus and is most likely hiding," Grace added with a shrug.

"Great, were trying to find someone who doesn't want to be found… Most excellent," 

Daisy seemed annoyed this morning. Grace smiled amused.

"OK I'll let them know you headed out," Grace said as she watched the two trek into the woods at the back of the school-yard. 

Back in the office she radioed Search and Rescue with the news that she had one team heading to the ridge. They said that Graham and Sophie's teams heard the radio conversation and had also headed that direction. Now all Grace could do was wait. She was sitting on the couch dozing off when someone entered. 

"Grace?" 

It was Peter. She jumped up off the couch nervously and tried of speak, but her open mouth couldn't make any noise. Luckily for her Peter continued.

"Hear anything from Search and Rescue?" 

"Yeah, they think he headed to the ridge not to town. So he's probably not far from campus. How's Lindsay?" She blurted out without taking a breath.

"She's going to be ok. She was still unconscious when I left, but I wanted to check on things here." Peter explained.

"Can I go see her?" Grace asked.

"Why don't you wait until she wakes up?" Peter suggested strongly.

"I'd like to sit with her now. Might help to talk to her," Grace pleaded—anything to get away from here.

"OK. I'm going back in twenty minutes. Grab some lunch and be ready at 12:30 sharp."

"Thanks!" Grace smiled heading out to the kitchen to rummage up some lunch. She was starving now. After throwing up what was left of last night's dinner she could eat anything.

Peter didn't have time to wonder what Grace was up to. He picked up the radio and called Sophie.

At the hospital Grace is sitting beside Lindsay's bed and Peter is pacing in the hallway. It is getting late and Hank, Curtis, Graham and Search and Rescue are still looking for Daniel. Peter is now really worried about both students. Lindsay is not yet awake, which can't be good, and Daniel is still missing, and it will be dark soon.

As if she knew Peter couldn't take it much longer, Lindsay began to stir. Grace took her hand and tried to talk to her. Finally Lindsay opened her eyes. 

"Where am I?" Lindsay moaned hoarsely.

"In the hospital. You fell down the stairs? Remember?" Grace explained excitedly. She turned to the half open door and called, "Hey Peter, she's awake!"

"Ow…" Lindsay tried to sit up.

"Hey, Lindsay. How're you doing? Doctor said you might have a little headache when you woke up," Peter said trying to make her smile. It worked and Lindsay laughed softly, realizing her head felt like it might explode. 

"My head is throbbing. How long have I been here?"

"All day!" Grace replied.

"Ugh…"

With that the doctor came in, "Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling? A little headache?" She nodded gently in agreement with this. "OK I'll have the nurse bring you some Tylenol. We'd like to keep you a couple of days for observations—let you get some rest and make sure your concussion goes away." He was talking to Peter now, and Peter got the hint.

"Ok. Grace, I think we should probably get back to school. Lindsay needs her rest, and I need to check on the search. Lindsay we can talk about what happened tomorrow."

"Sure. Can I come back tomorrow too?" Grace asked the Doctor, not Peter.

"No problem. Just check with the nurse for the visiting hours," the doctor said before he realized that he should have left that one to Peter.

"OK Lindsay we'll see you tomorrow. Grace, why don't you go ask the nurse when you can come back." Peter figured it wouldn't hurt to have Grace sit with her tomorrow. That way he could concentrate on finding Daniel.

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Next time on Higher Ground the Second Season: Daniel's life on the run takes a turn for the worse, Grace and Lindsay talk about what happened in their past, Daisy acts on a romantic impulse, Shelby is in for a surprise, Sophie and Peter discuss her mom, Sophie's past comes to visit.

Ponderings: Who knocked over the wood pile?


End file.
